Local Body Polls: From Kasaragod To Malappuram, A Decisive UDF Surge Reshapes North Kerala

It was a day that will linger in political memory, though for very different reasons. Across Kerala, familiar hues shifted as red gave way to blue and green in many districts. The United Democratic Front (UDF) had reason to celebrate, especially as it breached long-held Left bastions in the north — a turnaround that sent a clear message through the state’s political landscape.

In the two-phase 2025 local body elections, figures released by the State Election Commission reflected this change in mood. The Congress-led UDF emerged ahead with 38.81 per cent of the vote, while the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) followed with 33.45 per cent. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 14.71 per cent, with the remaining 13.03 per cent shared among other parties and Independents.

Across the tiers of local governance, the UDF set the pace. Dominating contests in panchayats, municipalities and Corporations, the UDF swept up 8,021 grama panchayat wards, 1,241 block panchayat wards, 196 district panchayat wards, along with 1,458 municipal wards and 187 Corporation seats. 

For the LDF, the results told a more sobering story. Even though they were losing ground across the state, the LDF were able secure 6,584 grama panchayat wards, 928 block panchayat wards, 148 district panchayat wards, 1,103 municipal wards and 126 Corporation wards.

The BJP-led NDA, meanwhile, made its presence felt with victories in 1,448 grama panchayat wards, 54 block panchayat wards, a lone district panchayat ward, 324 municipal wards and 93 Corporation wards.

In numbers, the UDF polled a total of 82,37,385 votes — drawing 39.17 per cent support in panchayats (65,96,415 votes), 38.85 per cent in municipalities (10,84,901), and 34.59 per cent in Corporations (5,56,069). The LDF followed with 70,99,175 votes, including 34.02 per cent in panchayats (57,29,020), 29.88 per cent in municipalities (8,34,427), and 33.67 per cent in Corporations (5,35,728).

Kasargod district

The UDF retained control of the Kasaragod municipal council, largely on the strength of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), by winning 24 of the 39 wards in the local body elections.

Across the district, the pattern was telling. The UDF prevailed in Kasaragod municipality, with the NDA finishing second and the Left Democratic Front reduced to a solitary seat. The LDF found firmer ground in Nileshwaram, while Kanhangad delivered a perfectly balanced verdict, ending in a 20–20 tie between the UDF and LDF.

Of the UDF’s 24 seats, 23 came from the IUML, underlining the party’s decisive role. The NDA slipped from 14 seats in the outgoing council to 12, while the LDF modestly improved its presence from one to two — one of those victories coming via an Independent backed by the Left.

Since its inception, Kasaragod municipality has largely remained in UDF hands, losing power only twice to LDF.

Kannur District

UDF delivered a sharp jolt to the Left by reclaiming the Kannur Corporation, securing 36 seats in the 56-division council and sealing its return to power. Yet the district told a more nuanced story, with the LDF managing to retain its overall foothold.

Across Kannur district’s nine municipalities and Corporations, the balance tilted narrowly towards the Left. The LDF led in five — Anthoor, Iritty, Koothuparamba, Payyannur and Thalassery — while the UDF emerged ahead in four: Kannur, Panoor, Sreekandapuram and Taliparamba.

Anthoor saw the LDF dominate, winning all 29 wards. In Iritty’s 34 wards, the Left took 16, with the UDF close behind on 13, while the NDA secured four and one went to others — leaving no front with the required majority of 18. A similar pattern played out in Iritty, where the LDF again won 16 wards, the UDF 13, the NDA four and others one.

Koothuparamba proved a Left stronghold, with the LDF sweeping 23 of the 29 wards, leaving the UDF with four and one each to the NDA and others. In Payyannur, the Left’s grip was firmer still, winning 35 of the 46 wards, while the UDF managed nine and others took two. Thalassery followed suit, with the LDF claiming 32 of 53 wards, ahead of the UDF’s 13, the NDA’s six and two Independents.

The UDF found brighter ground elsewhere. In Panoor, it crossed the line by winning 23 of 41 wards, pushing the LDF to 14, with the NDA on three and one Independent. Sreekandapuram saw a narrow UDF victory too, with 18 of 31 wards, leaving the LDF with 13.

Perhaps most striking was Taliparamba — the home turf of CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan and its sitting MLA — where the UDF edged ahead with 17 of the 35 wards, closely followed by the LDF on 15, while the NDA secured three.

Wayanad district

UDF enjoyed a near-perfect run in Wayanad, turning the local body elections into a sweeping statement of intent. The front captured the district panchayat, all four block panchayats, and two of the district’s three municipalities, leaving little doubt about the prevailing mood.

Of the 23 grama panchayats, 16 swung in favour of the UDF, while six stayed with the Left Democratic Front. Pulpally ended in a rare deadlock, and Kalpetta municipality stood out as the lone consolation for the LDF in the district.

The district panchayat result was emphatic. Out of 17 divisions, the UDF claimed 15, conceding just two to the Left. In Sulthan Bathery municipality, previously governed by the LDF, the tide turned decisively. The UDF secured 19 seats to the LDF’s 14, while the NDA picked up one seat and Independents accounted for two.

In Mananthavady, the UDF comfortably held on to power with 21 seats, as the LDF won 14 and Independents took two. Kalpetta, however, slipped from the UDF’s grasp, with the LDF capitalising on internal discord. The Left won 15 seats, restricting the UDF to eight. The NDA opened its account here with two seats, while Independents emerged victorious in five divisions.

At the block panchayat level, the UDF’s dominance was unambiguous. In Sulthan Bathery block, it won eight seats against the LDF’s five, with one Independent. Mananthavady block delivered 10 seats to the UDF and four to the LDF. Kalpetta block proved even more lopsided, with the UDF taking 14 seats and the LDF just two. In Panamaram, the UDF surged ahead with 13 seats, leaving the LDF with one and an Independent claiming the remaining division.

Kozhikode district

Kozhikode, home to one municipal corporation and the municipalities of Vadakara, Koyilandy, Mukkam, Payyoli and Ramanattukara, delivered a result layered with both relief and reckoning for the LDF.

The Kozhikode Corporation offered the LDF a measure of consolation in an otherwise bruising local body election, one in which the front lost control of four other corporations. Yet even this win carried the sting of setback. For the first time, the LDF will be forced to govern the civic body without an absolute majority in what has long been regarded as its Malabar stronghold.

In the 76-member council, the LDF emerged as the single largest bloc with 34 seats, falling four short of the halfway mark — a sharp decline from the 51 it held in 2020. The erosion was unmistakable.

Meanwhile, the UDF staged a steady climb, raising its tally from 17 to 26 seats. The BJP-led NDA recorded its strongest performance yet in the corporation, nearly doubling its presence from seven to 13 seats. Notably, many of the NDA’s gains came from the heart of the city, signalling fresh inroads into areas once firmly held by both the LDF and UDF.

For a front that once ruled the Kozhikode Corporation with ease, the LDF’s reduced numbers point to a broader loss of ground, mirrored by reverses in several traditional bastions across the district.

Beyond the corporation, the UDF held its sway in four of the seven municipalities, emerging victorious in Feroke, Koduvally, Payyoli and Ramanattukara. The LDF, however, maintained the upper hand in Koyilandy, Vadakara and Mukkam. At the grassroots level, among the district’s 1343 grama panchayats, the UDF secured control in 677, while the LDF won 552, NDA in 23 and independents in 91.

Malappuram district

UDF delivered its strongest-ever performance in civic body elections in Malappuram district, decisively defeating LDF across municipalities, grama panchayats, block panchayats and the district panchayat. In Malappuram, the UDF did not merely win — it redrew the map.

For the first time, the Malappuram district panchayat will function without an opposition. All 33 seats went to the UDF, erasing the LDF entirely from the council. The scale of the victory was striking: the UDF won 11 of the district’s 12 municipalities, 87 of 94 grama panchayats, and 14 of 15 block panchayats.

The Left found refuge only in pockets. It retained Ponnani municipality and four grama panchayats — Niramaruthur, Elamkulam, Vazhayur and Veliyamkode. Everywhere else, the verdict was decisive. The UDF won in municipalities including Kondotty, Kottakkal, Malappuram, Manjeri, Nilambur, Parappanangadi, Perinthalmanna, Thanoor, Tirur, Tirurangadi and Valanchery.

Nilambur told a story of reversal. Once briefly seized by the LDF in 2020, the municipality swung back sharply, with the UDF winning 26 wards to the Left’s six, while others took four. The political tide there had already begun to turn following P.V. Anvar’s resignation as MLA and the LDF’s defeat in the subsequent Assembly by-election.

Perinthalmanna, meanwhile, slipped from Left control after three decades. In the closely fought 37-member council, the UDF won 15 seats to the LDF’s 14, with Independents, most aligned with the UDF, securing the remaining eight.

Reasons for UDF win

The shift did not come from a single cause, but from an accumulation of discontent. Kundara MLA P.C. Vishnunadh explains that in Malabar, the Sabarimala issue left deep impressions. Though the shrine lies in south Kerala, allegations of gold theft from the temple during the LDF’s tenure annoyed the Hindus.

After the Lok Sabha elections, unease also grew within the Muslim community. “Remarks by the Chief Minister on Malappuram were widely read as hostile, fuelling fears of alienation. Critics accused the CPI(M) of edging towards soft Hindutva, attempting Hindu consolidation at the cost of its traditional secular image. CPI(M) was taking on BJP’s role in the state,” added Vishnunadh.

In north Kerala, many voters began reassessing the Left leadership altogether. As Majoosh Mathew, State president of the Karshaka Congress, observed, the Chief Minister’s continued engagement with SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, despite his inflammatory remarks about Muslims, unsettled large sections of society. Natesan’s warning of Muslims becoming Kerala’s dominant population sparked outrage, earning him the label “Kerala Togadia” from the Muslim League. The Chief Minister’s defence of him, as a supposed secular voice, jarred sharply with his own past denunciations.

“Discontent ran deeper in the hill regions, where human–wildlife conflict disrupted everyday life. The administration’s perceived indifference, and its hostility towards local attempts at intervention, turned even once-supportive Christian communities against the Left,” explained Mathew

Then came what many call the ‘Shafi effect’. The attack on Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil by Kerala police in Kozhikode’s Perambra struck a chord well beyond the constituency. “People saw it clearly for what it was. It was an assault by the state,” said Prince M, a schoolteacher from Koorachundu in Kozhikode district. The UDF’s wins in Vadakara, Perambra, Nadapuram and Kuttiyadi reflected that quiet but decisive response.